Until We Meet Again
by Holyknightsteve
Summary: Parting is such sweet sorrow. Everyone knows that. However, when their paths are forced to diverge, will Lyude and Xelha be able to say farewell? Light XelhaXLyude Dedicated to Fan Fan Girl


A/N: Listen up everybody! This one goes out to a very special lady: Fan Fan Girl, the author of the incredible Baten Kaitos story "Beneath the Sea". Sometime in the middle of August, she will be leaving for a Japan and won't be home for year. No doubt she will be sorely missed in the fanfiction community and I for one will be greatly saddened by her year-long departure. Nevertheless, I hope that I can do my part to help out the relatively small BK community. To any and all of you who are reading this story, please give hers a read. Again, it's called "Beneath the Sea". It is written with the skill and grace of a professional author and I promise that you won't be disappointed. I know I wasn't.

Anyway, on with the story. This one's for you Fan Fan Girl. Thank you for being such a wonderful person to an unworthy soul such as myself.

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**_Until We Meet Again_**

The dock area was secluded. Located along the barren edge of the Alfard Empire, there would be no cheering crowds to wish the future Ice Queen of Wazn a safe and happy journey. No uptight nobles and over-protective guards to ruin the moment for them. No noise. No regulations. Not even their friends were present, for they had already gone their separate ways, each with their own tasks to attend to. Even Kalas, who once seemed so close to her, had left everyone behind to follow his own path. Indeed, there was nothing there to interrupt them. Just Lyude, Xelha, and her majestic white dragon.

He could not have asked for better conditions.

This was their time or perhaps it was just his time. How did she feel about all this? Was she sad about Kalas and their other friends leaving so unceremoniously after their quest was over? Perhaps she was saddened even more by the fact that her fantastic journey was over and she would once again have to return to the Land of Ice to rule her people as she was always meant to do. Lyude dared to hope that she would be sad to part ways with him most of all. He felt that he had hoped for too much.

After all, what would she think if he were to tell all? Would she reject him? Perhaps she would laugh at him for thinking such foolish things. Would she accept him? Hardly. He was a soul unworthy of her attention. What was he but a cowardly soldier who had once been too weak too stand on his own? He sometimes wondered if he would ever be able to stand again if she left. He had already felt weakened by the departure of those he called 'friend'. Would her departure be the one that killed his soul?

"Lyude?"

He shook himself out of his daze only to find Xelha standing in front of him, her sad smile reflecting the beauty of her soul. "Huh? Oh, I, uh… forgive me. I was just…"

She giggled. "Always the dreamer Lyude. Even now when we are parting ways, her mind is ablaze with thought."

He bowed respectfully. "Forgive me. I'm… not sure how to deal with this."

She slowly nodded. "Yeah I… feel the same way." She looked up toward the orange sky above. "It's time for us to part ways but it's so hard. I know that we have to do this, but…"

He too looked up at the sky. "We have to rebuild our countries now, for the sake of a brighter future."

"Indeed." She laughed. "We sure have been through a lot, haven't we?"

"Mmm," mumbled Lyude. "Hard to believe that we've finally come to this point."

She looked back at him and smiled. "It sure is."

Returning her gaze, Lyude said nothing as a warm wind brushed up against them. He knew he had to say something, but he felt as if he didn't have the courage to do so.

Her smile saddening rapidly, she spoke up. "Well…" She walked over to Lyude and hugged him who in turn returned the favor. Pulling away, she said, "Goodbye Lyude. Thank you for everything." Offering him a bow, she walked away slowly toward the white dragon.

Lyude put one foot forward as if he wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out. "Damnit Lyude! Speak up!" a voice yelled from within him. "Are you just going to let her go like that? Don't you care about her? If you don't talk to her now, you may regret it for the rest of your life!"

"Xelha!"

She turned to the seemingly frantic Lyude. "Huh?"

Beads of sweat rolled down his face as he struggled to find the proper words. "D-don't go…"

"What? Lyude?"

"Please… don't go. Stay here with me in Alfard."

She closed her eyes and sadly shook her head. "Lyude, I… I have to. There is so much work to be done. It's my… duty as the Ice Queen to take care of my country."

"Then…" He closed his eyes, nodded, and opened his eyes again. "…let me come with you!"

"What?"

The desperation in Lyude's voice was now very apparent. "Let me come with you! I can help you rebuild Wazn!"

Unsure of what to make of all this, Xelha hesitantly said, "L-Lyude! But… but why… you have to rebuild your country."

He shook his head violently. "I don't care! I'm but a small part to it all!"

"That's not true Lyude!" cried Xelha. "You're the only hero the people of Alfard have to look up to now. You are their hope! You can't let them down!"

"Xelha, I…"

"Lyude…"

He paused and took a deep breath. "Xelha, I want to be with you… more than anything else."

Shocked beyond belief, Xelha was at a loss for words. "L-Lyude! I… I…"

Lyude shook his head. "Xelha, I would do anything for you. You may not feel the same way, but you… you're the most special person I know." He paused and looked down. "I fact, I… I think I…"

"Please don't say it Lyude," Xelha pleaded.

"Xelha…"

Tears forming in her eyes, she turned away from the noble soldier in an attempt to hide her own sadness. "Please Lyude. Don't say it."

"Why not?" he asked, confused.

Turning back to him, Xelha wiped a few of the tears from her face as she tried to explain. "Lyude, there are many things that I must do as the Queen of Ice that you can't be a part of. That's why, no matter what I want, I can't… I can't…" Unable to control herself any further, she threw herself at Lyude and wrapped her slender arms around his back. "I don't want to hurt you in any way!" Whispering, she added, "I care about you too much."

"Xelha, I…" Unsure of what to do, the young man wrapped his arms around his dear friend and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry Lyude."

A lone tear finally fell from Lyude's eye as he shook his head. "Please don't be. I… understand why you have to go. But…"

Interrupting him, she said, "Then let's leave it at that. Please… for both our sakes."

"Will we ever see each other again?"

Xelha, still sobbing lightly, gently pulled away from Lyude, forced a smile, and nodded. "Yes… someday. But for now-"

"We have to take care of our obligations."

She nodded. "Yes."

They embraced, knowing now what must happen. "I understand. I wish you the best of luck then," said Lyude.

Parting slowly and with regret, Xelha walked away from Lyude, spread her wings of the heart, and flew onto the back of the majestic white dragon. "Goodbye… Lyude." With that, the White Dragon took off and began to fly away.

Another heart-felt tear fell from Lyude's eyes as he waved to Xelha, doing his best to smile for her. "Farewell Xelha! Until We Meet Again!"

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Thank you for being such a wonderful friend to me Sei-chan. It's not much, I know, but I truly hope that you enjoyed this, my parting gift to you. The next year without you is gonna suck, but I hope you have a wonderful time in Japan. When you come home, talking to you again will be that much sweeter. Please take care of yourself until then! So, farewell, dear friend of mine… until we meet again.


End file.
